A strategy is different than a Problem: Change your ways to tackle them separately.

Strategy – the most abused word in corporate corridors, is perhaps least understood. Different people use it for different reasons, giving different reasoning. However, the most common misuse by top executives of organisations is when they change a challenge into a problem and then try tackling such a problem by tried and tested tools. These tried and tested tools are put on piece or pieces of papers after long discussions – sometimes running from weeks to months, under the pretext of Strategy Making. Sometimes, another name of ‘Comprehensive Plans’ is used instead of strategy. Agenda remains only one, tackling s problem – far away from their real intention of making a strategy.

Idea behind such activities in organisations is to feel safe & secured in the dynamic market conditions. The feel predominantly is that as they have well placed strategy in place, hence their business is secured. The reason of such acts of learned well educated executives around the world is overcome the fear of failure and discomfort.

Do you such things in your organisations, readers?

But fact remains a fact. Fear and discomfort are real and integral part of strategy making. The litmus test of a ‘would be successful strategy’ is shades of discomfort and fear about its success. The reason behind it, nobody can see & predict future, therefore no one can make a full proof strategy.

A strategy in real sense is about placing bets and making hard choices. Hard choices? That people dread the most.  For all reasons, I can say a strategy should have inbuilt ‘risk of failure’ in it. In other words, strategy can not eliminate ‘risk of failure’ but only increase the ‘probability of successes.’

As organisations go along, a defined strategy should provide the flexibility to change it.  No strategy can avoid unexpected hurdles in its way. Further, ‘Perfection’ attitude in strategy formulation has no place.

So strategy formulators please do not get disheartened when your strategies come face hurdles on their way of implementation, just ensure you have given enough room for taking correct actions.